美国政府决定从8月4日开始，停止施行已经两年，禁止乘客带普通打火机上飞机的政策。美国运输部认为，在乘客登机前搜索他们身上是否携带打火机，根本是浪费时间。 2001年当鞋子炸弹客芮德意图在从巴黎飞往迈阿密的班机上，用火柴引燃藏在鞋子里的炸弹後，美国政府在国会的坚持之下，终於宣布了禁带打火机上机的命令。 $ F& _. e( q4 T. O8 o( l) |9 y4 B : N) {1 } J/ D- L% c
Cigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US3 L5 y+ r% q9 c. s p
US authorities will no longer enforce a two-year-old ban against taking cigarette lighters on planes because searching passengers wasted time and did not improve aviation security, the New York Times reports. : K7 Y. n1 |% s) ?0 s' r5 [$ G2 Y5 E: E# T$ M: E3 m! r- [9 M
The ban on lighters was ordered by US lawmakers after a passenger, Richard Reid, tried to ignite a bomb in his shoe in 2001 on a flight from Paris to Miami.6 W/ w& C0 i2 H: F& [
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Reid, known as the "shoe bomber", had used matches to try to ignite explosives concealed in his shoe and is currently serving a life sentence for trying to blow up the transatlantic flight. + b5 V( J8 Q! A 3 v" _1 \1 p, ^$ _7 DUS authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights. ' T0 u- }2 q- }% B0 j 6 w8 K r# ~# t* _4 k0 i# M i! `8 DUS Transport Security Administration assistant secretary Kip Hawley says the ban on lighters did not significantly enhance security because small batteries could be used to detonate a bomb. ( b5 v6 B! q2 s# Q$ B( `Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts. 3 p* H. X" s' V3 E1 [1 s! B8 J2 E0 H- _4 W; b; U( t
"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said. 8 |4 B! k( \2 D% ^2 ^0 E. j; q! F/ L, o8 o& S0 j! W6 V3 d0 b
"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."4 ` _, I. F+ X: z1 ^$ Z W0 L
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The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.2 |7 s7 S' q0 _
3 D1 E3 @( j% h( o* d& B! N2 J4 bThe New York Times says some 22,000 lighters a day are collected by security officers at airports across the United States and disposing of the confiscated lighters has cost about $US4 million a year.
